Ruest has been playing box lacrosse since he was six or seven. He got his first all-in field lacrosse experience at The Hill Academy north of Toronto. He was on the Burlington team at the highest Ontario indoor junior level before moving up to the senior bracket with teams in Oakville and Cobourg in Ontario and Langley in British Columbia during his summers. He was selected 35th overall in the 2015 NLL draft by Calgary and was released during training camp, which was predictable given the Roughnecks have Curtis Dickson, Tyler Digby and Wes Berg on the right side.
Ruest was an unrestricted free agent when Mammoth General Manager Steve Govett snagged him last August. That was a big break for Ruest. After a good camp, and with Mike Mallory injured, he was inserted on the right side with Jeremy Noble and Callum Crawford for the season opener in Buffalo.
He is flying from Ottawa on Friday to settle in Denver for the NLL season. The Mammoth, owned by the group that also owns the NHL's Colorado Avalanche, is putting him up in a downtown hotel suite with new teammates Josh Sullivan, Jordan Gilles and Taylor Stuart.
"I got a couple of tips from Callum Crawford: don't overpack, and keep it as light as possible," Ruest said.
The Mammoth home opener is Saturday against Vancouver.
"It's a new experience and it's a lot of fun," Ruest said of his NLL infancy. "There's a lot more for me to learn but I'm enjoying it."
McMinn saw Ruest's game improve each year he was at Robert Morris.
"He turned into a dynamic player for us," said McMinn. "We brought him in as a right-stick finisher who was good around the net so he started out playing attack. With his athleticism, we moved him to play midfield and at times he was playing back and also on attack. He really turned into a very good overall player whereas originally he was a little more one-dimensional."
Ruest was impressive off the field as well.
"He's always extremely coachable and respectful," said McMinn. "He improved his game in many facets because of his coachability and willingness to learn. There is a light-hearted side to him, too."
McMinn keeps a recruiting eye trained on Canada. He has 16 Canadians on his current roster and a lot of them, like Ruest, have played lacrosse since they were boys.
"They already have a base in the sport," he explained.
So, it is not a surprise that many are NLL-ready when their Colonials days end.
"We run an offense suitable to their strengths," McMinn said. "A lot of our guys improve their box lacrosse in our system because we emphasize a lot of off-ball play. We pride ourselves in our off-ball movement. We get guys that are already good lacrosse players and our system helps them develop.''